A gadget-loving father has built a device that lets him keep an eye on his children - wherever he is in the world.

Rupert Plumridge, 35, from Bristol, uses a night-vision camera to watch his kids on a live internet feed on his tablet, smartphone or laptop.

The webcam can be moved via remote control and has a speaker so that he or his wife Hannah can read their kids a bed time story even when they're out of town.

I've got my eye on you, sonny: Rupert Plumridge, with his wife Hannah, daughter Lily, two, and baby Dominic, six-months. The gadget-loving dad has built an app that allows him to keep an eye on his kids online

Mr Plumridge, a research manager at
Lloyds Bank, who has a two-year-old daughter called Lily and six-month
old son called Dominic, said that it cost him around £50 to put together
the device.

He first started the project in 2010 after finding similar devices already on the market had only limited features.

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'I can view it on my phone anywhere in
the world if you have a mobile network connection. I was in London a
couple of days ago, and I watched my son and daughter going to sleep,'
he said.

'Some people might think it's a bit "Big Brother" but it's more just to know they're okay.

'The webcam looks like a glowing eye.
It could be a bit freaky but Lily doesn't mind. It reassures her, she
knows mummy and daddy are looking out for her.'

Mr Plumridge built his device out of
products already readily available on the market, 'but ones that aren't
actually designed to monitor babies with and thus don't have crazy high
price tags.'

The system consists simply of an remote-controllable IP webcam with night-vision connected to his home WiFi network.

The camera transmits the feed via an internal web address that can be accessed using an internet browser or media software.

Night vision: Views of the live feeds shown by Mr Plumridge's device. He built it from commercially available IP camera gear, and saved a packet on the expensive, dedicated child-watching devices available

Mr Plumridge wrote on his blog: 'It is
certainly a much cheaper and more flexible approach than the dedicated
solutions on the market currently and rather than only being able to
view the video feed on one tiny screen, you can view it on pretty much
any screen you wish pretty much anywhere you want.

He added: 'It's not an alternative to a
babysitter but it's really useful if you're away from home and you want
to see your kids. I would definitely recommend it for other parents.

'I think when I'm not there it makes our children feel reassured.

'The webcam has a speaker so that parents can read their kids a bed-time story - but it makes you sound like Darth Vader.'